A-Z of Endangered Species – Galápagos penguin

This week is week number 7 and I am featuring my first bird of the series, It is a penguin, everyone loves penguins and this Galápagos penguin is the only species of penguin living north of the equator. As the name suggests these penguins live on the Galápagos Islands in the Eastern Pacific ocean around 600 miles to the west of Ecuador.

This Penguin survives in the warmer Galápagos Islands due to the Cromwell current bringing cold waters up from the southern cooler regions. They spend their days in the sea eating fish and crustaceans then return to land at night.

The Galápagos penguin is quite small in size and so it is at risk from many predators. On land, the penguins are preyed upon by crabs, snakes, domestic cats, hawks, owls and even rats while in the water they are preyed upon by sharks, seals and sea lions. They also face many dangers such as Illegal fishermen interrupting the penguins’ nests and being in fishing nets by mistake. On top of all of those risks they are also in danger from regular volcanic activity.

You can find out more about the Galápagos penguin here – http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/galapagos-penguin

You can donate to the WWF-UK by visiting this link – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/EndangeredSpecies